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Thursday, March 30, 2017

I'll be at a retreat later this year and I've asked all the participants to swap a page for my mini with me. Won't that be just so fun and I think I'll have the best mini ever with all that talent in one book from so many people! I used the Times Nouveau DCE for my cover and I think the image of the classy ladies is perfect. I have a "thing" for all the G45 buttons so I've used that as part of my cover too.

I've recorded a video for you of how I made my cover and I'm sharing some inking tips. I'll also show you how to make your cover more durable, line up your letters, and the easy way to glue metal embellishments so they stay where you want them.

Here's a pretty card for Mom with a hidden greeting that you could change for any occasion. There's a tag hidden under the image that pulls out. You can see the hidden tag in the next photo.I've use some Maja Designs paper with bright white cardstock.

I used a couple of layers of Maja Designs Enjoying the Outdoors paper along with the bright white cardstock. The striped background layer was cut with French Flair Pierce And Cut Tool . The I cut a layer with Quadrafoil Square Doily 2 Piece Die Set and tucked it in the top left corner. Over top that, I layered an image from the design paper. The little tag that I stamped my sentiment on is also from the design papers.

I used Cherry Blossom 2 Piece Die Set to make the flowers. I just shapped them a little bit and stacked two layers together and topped with some fun pink bling.

I used Flourish #1 Die underneath the flowers to give the appearance of a vine winding its way up the side.

I am so thrilled to be guest designing for the Frilly and Funkie Challlenge Blog today! I designed this tag for the current challenge, "Count Me In" and for this challenge you need to use numbers to add that special 'sum-thing' to your vintage or shabby chic project. Well a numbers challenge is right up my alley because, before I retired, I was what is known as a number cruncher or a bean counter, LOL!! Yep, I am a retired CPA so I made my tag as a nod to my profession. The quote is fitting because after a long week at the office (especially during tax season) my art was my mental release and served to refocus my brain for the coming week.

I used the new Distress Oxide inks for the background of my tag. Beleive it or not, the tag is acutally a black tag. I love how the Oxide inks cover up dark colors! Once I was satisfied with the effect of the Distress Oxides, I used a crackle stencil to add some additional texture and then gave the entire tag a spritz of Lindy's Starburst Mist - Tibetan Poppy Teal. Those fun numbers were diecut with a Sizix Alterations die.

I layered on some design paper from Graphic 45's Typography collection and added an old piece of IRS newsprint behind the cut-apart that I popped up with a piece of cardboard. I thought it needed something else, so I splashed it with black paint. Finally, I like to add some "pretty" to my grunge so I popped on a couple of Petaloo blooms.

Monday, March 20, 2017

Hi there Cheery Lynn fans! I have a spring treat for you today. After those awful storms that roared through parts of the US, we need some spring! My project today is a large (6.5" x 12") thickboard Etcetera tag. Let me tell you, I had more fun with this project than anything I've done in a long time!

I wanted to showcase some of the pretty flowers you can make with Cherry Lynn dies AND I wanted to play with my new Distress Oxide inks and Alchemy Metallique Wax. This is the result! I started out with a stencil and white masking paste to create the textured quadrefoil design you see. After that completely dried, I started playing around with the Oxides. To achieve the effect you see here I used little finger tip sponges and sponged on different colors of ink and then I lightly misted the ink enough so the oxidation process was initiated but light enough so that the colors did not pool. After that was dry, I applied aged brass wax all around the sides of the tag as well as random swipes over the tag.

I inked all the flowers and leaves with Oxide Ink to get that soft faded look. For the blue flowers and leaves, I used an ink color that was similar to the color of the cardstock. for the orangish flowers, I started with yellow cardstock and applied both fossilized amber and spiced marmalade inks,. again only lightly misting. The orange flowers are made with the Sweet Williams Dies and the blue, with the Floral Bouquet Kit 8 Piece Die Set.

Instead of a traditional bow at the top, I opted to use a piece that I molded using air dry clay and a Baroque mold. After it dried, I applied Alchemy Metallique aged brass wax as a coloring agent. The small piece at the bottom near the largest flower was made the same way.

Last fall we visited the little town of Lynchburg, TN and made a stop at the Jack Daniels Distillery. I have to say that is one of the best tours I've ever been on! I love this photo of Dick and I on the front porch of a little country store in Lynchburg.

I embellished my layout with lots of chippies from Creative Embellishments. Their chipboard is sturdy and the cuts are just perfect. I used the together frame from the Together Frame Set to frame my photo. I used white distress stain to lightly color the frame and then coated it with Ranger Crackle Accents.

Friday, March 17, 2017

They say that everyone is Irish on St Patrick's Day so top of the morning to you!! I'll just share this Olde Irish Blessing with you that I think speaks to everyone, no matter your nationality or faith.

May love and laughter light your days,

and warm your heart and home.

May good and faithful friends be yours,

wherever you may roam.

May peace and plenty bless your world

with joy that long endures.

May all life's passing seasons

bring the best to you and yours!

I made some cute little "french fry" boxes that I've filled with yummy gold bars. It's my prize from the end of the rainbow! 😊 You can easily make these. Just google french fry box templates and you'll be sure to find a pattern you can use. I happen to have a die from Cheery Lynn Designs that I used to cut these out which made the job a real quickie for me.

I cut my little boxes from Graphi 45 Children's Hour design paper and wrapped a band around the box and then topped that with some pretty Petaloo pansies. Then I tucked in a St Patrick's Day greeting along with some chocolates and I've got a fun little party favor or treat to give my Irish friends.

I trimmed this box with a bit of Petaloo cotton lace and a beautiful Darjeeling dahlia.

Here you can see how the boxes look without the goodies tucked inside. You can decorate them anyway you like and Petaloo has so many pretty blooms to help you out!

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Welcome to the Cheery Lynn Designs March IOE Embossing Folders & Plates Blog Hop. We are so excited to showcase these just released embossing folders and plates.

If you arrived from Amy's Blog you are on the right track. If not, head on back to the Cheery Lynn Designs Blog and start from the beginning so you don't miss seeing any of the design team's awesome IOE designs.

I used the IOE - Curls & Swirls Embossing Folder - IOEEF05 to emboss my card that I cut from Core'dinations cardstock and then lightly sanded the embossing so that it would really stand out. The matching plates, IOE - Rectangle IOE Plates - IOEPREC, are used to indicate which portion of the embossing plate you want to emboss. So from one embossing folder, you can make do many different combinations of embossing. With this folder, I could have just embossed the outer frame or just the inner frame. For my design, I decided to use both the inner and outer embossed frames.

Remember, there is a $20 Cheery Lynn gift certificate prize to be won by some lucky person! It is awarded randomly to a lucky commenter who answers one or more of the questions on the Cheery Lynn blog. So, be sure to follow the hop and leave a comment and answer the question(s) on the Cheery Lynn blog to be entered to win.

Your next stop on the blog hop isCheryl's Blog so hop on over and see her fantastic creation!

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Do leave a comment so I'll know you were here and remember to leave a comment on the Cheery Lynn blog for a chance to win.

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

I love step cards, I just
think they look so pretty standing up the way they do! I made this one for Graphic 45's display at Creativation and I kept it kind of simple as I had a lot of projects I wanted to do for Creativation. I just used a
cut-apart from Midnight Masquerade in the center and then added some strips
from design paper.

Inside the card, I added a journaling cut-apart and again, used strips from design paper on either side of the cut-apart.

Here's a view from the side where you can really see the "step". Wouldn't this be pretty displayed somewhere?

I used a lacy Cheery Lynn diecut behind the cut apart. It adds a festive look to the card especially with the fussy cut mask and flower in the front of it.

Sometimes, simple is good and it can be a
bold statement. Don't be afraid to use an image like a cut-apart as the focal point of your card. Embellish the cut-apart with a flower or trim and it will look great. I am guilty of over thinking my projects, and
I have a tendency to keep piling on the "stuff", then I say to
myself, "Maggi, simple is good, leave it alone!"

Graphic 45 Supplies:

Graphic 45 Midnight
Masquerade Collection 12 x 12:

Midnight Masquerade

Savor the Magic

Irresistable Intrique

Other Supplies:

Cardstock Core'dinations Bon
Voyage

Petaloo Botanica Blooms -
Lavender

Petaloo Hydrangeas - lavender

Italian Flourish Doily Die - DL103

Thank you so much for visiting me today! Stop byt the Graphic 45 blog everyday to see fabulous projects and ideas from our design team.

Friday, March 10, 2017

Easel cards make such great display pieces and I decided to add a little twist to this one by giving the easel part a different shape. I used a Cheery Lynn Designs die, Pierced Stacker 3 6 Piece Die Set , and diecut two pieces and used them to form my easel. I love how it looks at the bottom propped against the button revealing the interior of the card.

Thursday, March 9, 2017

What better use for the bold
new Midnight Masquerade collection than a Mardi Gras mask that I got in Louisiana a couple years
ago? I started with a 12 x 12 canvas
and, using the reverse side, I covered it all with design paper. That made a nice frame for my mask.

To make the mask, I tore up little pieces of paper and applied using matte medium. This was not difficult, but it does take some time and patience!

After the mask dried I diecut some flourishes that I thought would add color and design to the mask, again using matte medium as my glue. After the mask dried overnight, I added rhinestones and Stickles to glam it up.

Tips:

Because Graphic 45's paper is such a nice weight, you need to use small paper pieces, when covering the mask, in order to get the paper to mold around the curves of the mask.

I didn't like the stark white paper tear lines showing on my mask. There are two ways to deal with that. 1) You could ink the paper pieces before applying but that took more time than I had to give, so, I went with option 2) I inked over the mask after the matte medium had dried.

I added some handmade flowers and fussy cut piece in the corner to finish it off. I stickled the flowers to add to the sparkle of the project.

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

I've combined some of my favorite things on this tag like Creative Embellishments fairies and one of my favorite circle frames. Then, toss in some Graphic 45 Secret Garden papers and Petaloo blooms, doesn't get much better!

First I painted the fairies with white gesso and then I used Stickles to give them lots of sparkle. You know fairies sparkle!!

The circle frame is heat embossed with Stampendous aged ivory embossing enamel. Then I added some glue here and there and sprinkled some blue grit over the glue just for some fun accents.

I finished it off with beautiful flowers from Petaloo's Penny Lane collection.

Escape Kitty's blog

Graphic 45

C.S.I. Colors...Stories...Inspiration...

Creative Embellishments

SNR February, March, April 2011 editions

About Me

I suppose one can make the connection between scrapbooking and travel. After all, if one travels a lot, there usually are pictures begging to be scrapped. My husband and I retired a couple of years ago and wander the continent whenever possible in our motorhome. We've been from Key West, FL to Fairbanks, Alaska and from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean in our RV!
But you are probably wondering what "Bark" has to do with this. Currently we are owned by two standard poodles and we usually travel in our motorhome so that they can accompany us. We refer to the motorhome as the "Doghouse".
So, I scrap, we travel, the dogs bark. In 3 words, I have described to you much about who I am! I do always take scrappy supplies with me in the RV so that when the mood strikes, I am ready!
I hope you'll visit my blog often to see what I am up to and please leave me a message now and then so I'll know you were here!